Chains
by Jo Slack
Summary: She was demon spawn, born of fire and hate. There was no rest for someone like her, not now, not ever.


A fat lady out walking her poodle heard a strange flapping sound. She looked up as a shadow passed over her, and screamed: The sky was full of winged black shapes. One swooped down on her with a screech, its claws outstretched. It was bat-like in appearance, with glowing red eyes and a gaunt skull's face. It snatched at the fat lady's hair. Her poodle bolted, yanking the leash out of her hand, and she fell flat on her face. She screamed again as claws raked her back.

"No you will not!" said Starfire fiercely.

There was a burst of green light and the creature shrieked in pain. It wavered like a mirage and vanished. The fat lady opened her eyes and blinked in confusion.

Starfire landed in front of her. "You are safe now," she said, as two more creatures dove towards them and were snapped up by a large green dinosaur.

The dinosaur shrank into Beast Boy. "Yuck!" he said, sticking his tongue out. "They taste like that stuff you find at the bottom of a toaster."

"And you would know this, why?" asked Raven dully.

Beast Boy smiled sheepishly.

Cyborg raised his sonic cannon and said in a booming voice, "Let's give these monsters a taste of their own medicine!"

The fat lady fled in terror, and Starfire rose into the air.

"Titans, go!" shouted Robin, and they all sprang into action. Robin hurled a boomerang into the frenzy of wings and it sliced through several creatures. They vanished one by one. Beast Boy transformed into a pterodactyl, lashing out with his sharp beak, and Starfire threw more starbolts.

"What are these things?" asked Cyborg, using his sonic cannon to cut a swath through the nightmarish flock.

"I do not know," said Starfire. "Surely they are not Earth animals?"

Beast Boy flopped onto the ground and reverted to his human shape. "Hello, am I the only one who sees the glowing red eyes? They totally look like Raven's dad!"

"But Trigon was defeated," said Starfire, a bit uncertainly.

"And he's never coming back," said Robin.

Raven's eyes blazed white. "No, he's not."

She shot into the air, her blue cloak flapping around her. Black energy surged from her hands.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she snarled, and half the creatures were gone in an instant. The remaining half flew at her, flapping and screeching. Wings buffeted her face, slicing the world into jagged pieces. She cried out and dropped several feet.

"Raven!" shouted Robin, lunging forward.

She felt claws grip her arms and shoulders, holding her in place. She gritted her teeth and tried to shake them off, but they were too strong. She lifted her head - her hood had fallen off at some point and her hair was uncovered - and watched as a dozen or so creatures merged to form a beautiful woman in a black cloak. She had blond hair and golden eyes.

"Greetings, Raven," she said with a smile. "My name is Topaz. My master sends his regards, along with this token."

She opened her hand and something glittered on her palm. It was a tarnished silver ring set with a large square ruby.

"I don't want it," said Raven.

"It doesn't matter what you want," said Topaz coldly. "Your fate was decided before you were born. It's inescapable."

Raven grimaced. In the back of her mind there was a memory of fiery tattoos and a blood-red sky. Topaz was right; the past was inescapable. No matter how hard Raven tried, she would never be free of her demon heritage. It would always come back to bite her in the end.

"Why are you here?" she asked Topaz.

"For you," said Topaz simply, her hand closing around the silver ring. She took a step toward Raven.

A starbolt slammed into her from behind, knocking her off balance. Grenades exploded around her head, and a blast from Cyborg's cannon sent her reeling. There was a flash of green feathers and Beast Boy appeared in the form of a mighty eagle. Sharp talons gleaming, he descended on the creatures holding Raven captive with a piercing cry. Raven darted away as they screamed and scattered.

"No!" shouted Topaz as the smoke cleared. She heard a whooshing sound above her and glanced up just in time to see Robin launch himself off the side of a nearby building. His steel-toed boot collided with her stomach, driving her towards the ground. She hit the pavement hard, a small crater forming around her. Robin rolled away unharmed.

He whipped out his staff, the other Titans assembling around him.

"You're not taking her anywhere," he said.

Topaz's eyes narrowed. Once more she became a flock of screeching, winged creatures. They streamed out of the crater and zigzagged at Raven, their mouths open in snarls. Eyes ablaze, Raven rose to meet them.

"Azarath Metrion - ," she began, but at the last moment the creatures veered up and over her head. They swarmed through the air, their wings blotting out the sun. Then, they vanished.

There was a red glitter and a tiny silver clink. Topaz's ring rolled across the ground, coming to a stop below Raven.

"That's it?" asked Cyborg, after a moment's pause.

"They have given up?" said Starfire hopefully.

"For now," said Robin, with a glance at Raven.

Raven drifted slowly to the ground and drew her hood over her head. Her heart was beating fast. That woman, Topaz, she was somehow connected to Trigon, Raven was sure of it. She picked up the silver ring and held it in her hand. Would the nightmare never end?

Beast Boy ran up to her and slapped her on the back.

"Dude!" he grinned "You kicked their butts without even touching them!"

Raven pulled away, her hand clenching into a fist. Again she remembered the fiery tattoos, the bloody doomsday sky. You couldn't escape the past; you couldn't run from a nightmare. She squeezed her eyes shut and saw a dark, horned figure looming against a burning background. She was demon spawn, born of fire and hate. There was no rest for someone like her, not now, not ever.

"Uh, Raven?" said Beast Boy.

"I'll see you guys back at the Tower," she said, and flew away.

Robin watched her go, his face grim. There had been an uncharacteristic note of fear in her voice, one he hadn't heard since that fateful birthday party less than a year ago. The thought made him uneasy. After all, if Slade could come back from the dead, why not Trigon?

"Nice one," said Cyborg to Beast Boy.

Beast Boy groaned in frustration "What is her DEAL? I was trying to give her a compliment!"

* * *

Back at the Tower, Raven shut herself in her room. She realized she was still holding Topaz's ring and she set it on the dresser before crawling onto the bed. She could feel her emotions rising like a wind inside her, but she was too heartsick to meditate. Instead, she drew her knees to her chest and silently hoped that she was wrong about Topaz, that she, Raven, was beyond Trigon's reach -

Half an hour later, she heard footsteps in the hallway.

Robin knocked on the door. "Raven? Is everything okay?"

She glided over to the door, opening it just a crack. "Everything's fine," she told him, in her usual drab voice.

"You sure? You seemed pretty upset back there - "

"Positive." She shut the door in his face, turning her back to it.

"Listen, Raven," came Robin's voice from behind her. "Whatever happens next, no matter how terrible, you have friends. You don't have to face it alone."

Raven hugged herself and didn't speak. Would he still say that if the terrible thing kept happening, over and over again?

On the other side of the door, Robin stood rubbing the back of his neck. After a moment, he turned and walked away. Raven listened to his footsteps recede down the hallway and let her arms fall to her sides.

A red glitter caught her eye and she turned to look at the ring sitting on the dresser. She drifted over to it. It looked like a Gothic relic, the sort of thing you would find in an old church, or on one of her many bookshelves. She slipped it onto her finger and held it up to the light. The ruby gleamed like a drop of blood.

For a brief instant Raven glimpsed herself in the polygonal mirror hanging above the dresser, her expressionless eyes and ashen face. Her hand was slightly raised. Then there was a burst of red light - it was coming from the ring! - and suddenly a shrieking black portal opened in the middle of the floor. Shadowy tentacles shot towards her, wrapping around her ankles and yanking her off her feet.

At the end of the murky hallway, Robin heard her scream.

"Raven!" he said, dashing back the way he had come.

He kicked down the door and sprang into the room - and saw Raven being dragged into the portal. Her shoulders disappeared, and then her neck and chin. Her eyes stared up at Robin pleadingly before they too vanished into the black of the portal. Only a pale, reaching hand remained.

Robin slid across the floor and grabbed onto it, right as the portal began to shrink - it was closing! He held onto Raven's hand tight and was dragged headfirst into the cold, sucking darkness. His legs and boots disappeared and the portal closed behind him with a loud _blurp_. It was finished.

A moment later, Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Starfire poked their heads into the room.

"Uh, guys?" said Beast Boy. "What happened to Raven's door?"

"This can't be good," said Cyborg.

* * *

When Robin came to, he was lying face down on a hard, rocky surface. He groaned and cracked his eyes open and saw a gray cliff looming above him - but no Raven. He'd lost his grip on her hand after being dragged into the portal and been ripped away by a cold, buffeting wind. He hoped she was all right, wherever she was.

Wherever _this_ was.

He sat up in a crouch and looked around. Gray cliffs loomed on either side of him. He appeared to be in some kind of canyon. There were boulders and a few stunted trees. The sky was red. He got the feeling he wasn't on Earth anymore. He stood and felt an openess at his back and turned to see a gray wasteland spread beneath him. In the middle of it stood a sprawling castle, topped with towers and turrets and riddled with glowing, window-like holes. Perhaps Raven was there.

As fast as he could, Robin climbed down from the ledge and set off across the wasteland.

* * *

In a dark tower chamber, Raven lay curled on a shelf of rock. Black manacles circled her wrists, and from the manacles hung two long black chains.

She was a prisoner.

On the other side of the chamber was a small, arched window. It was barred - black stripes against a red sky. There was a sudden whistling sound and a grappling hook appeared. It hit the window ledge with a dull clunk, scraped, and held.

Raven glanced up, startled.

Robin's face appeared behind the bars. "Raven!"

She rushed over to the window, her chains clanking behind her, and clutched at the bars. Her eyes were round with fear.

"Robin, it's Trigon! He's back! And he wants revenge on the Titans!"

* * *

"Trigon was destroyed," said Robin.

Raven shook her head "My attack didn't destroy him, it just weakened him. He came here, to build up his army. He's going to march it against Jump City, using me as the portal. I thought it was over, but it's not."

Robin touched her hand. "We've beaten Trigon before. We can do it again."

"How, Robin?" She rattled her chains. "These chains neutralize my powers - I can't do anything!" She lowered her eyes. "You have to destroy me."

"I'm not going to destroy you!" said Robin angrily. "I'm going to get you out of here!"

He pulled out a boomerang and began hacking at the bars.

"Give up, Robin!" cried Raven. "It's hopeless!"

"Doesn't matter," said Robin between blows. "I'm not giving up. Trigon has the upper hand but we can still come out on top. We just have to keep fighting. Raven, you have to fight!"

Raven felt something flicker inside her - was it hope? - and she looked down at her manacles, her chains. Perhaps she could break free of them - had she even tried? The shame from before drained away and courage poured into her, bright and revitalizing. She was demon spawn, yes, but that didn't mean she had to give up.

"I - ," she started to say, her voice choked with gratitude.

Just then she noticed a faint shimmer in the air behind Robin. A demon made of fire appeared, crackling and malevolent. It lashed out at Robin with a fistful of flames and he jumped from the tower window.

Then he was falling - down and down and down - the tower rushing past him in a sickening gray blur. Gritting his teeth, he spun around so that his head was pointing upward. He was still clutching the boomerang. He dragged the tip of it down the side of the tower, slowing his descent with an earsplitting screech. Sparks flew. So did the fire demon. It was right behind him. A fireball roared over his head, smashing into the tower in an explosion of dust and rock. Next thing Robin knew, he was lying on the ground, bruised and battered, between a pair of large, clawed feet.

Trigon.

* * *

Robin stared up at the muscled torso and gleaming white hair, the antler-like horns and four glowing red eyes. Though only a fraction of his former size, the demon was undoubtedly Trigon.

As the dust settled, Trigon let out a bellow of rage and smashed his fists into the ground. Robin rolled to the side to avoid being crushed and then back-flipped onto his feet. Holding his staff out in front of him, he faced Trigon.

"It's over, Trigon!" he shouted.

Trigon laughed, a low, rumbling sound, like two boulders colliding.

From all around Robin there came snorts, growls, grunts, and shrieks of laughter. It was Trigon's army, cobbled together from various worlds and dimensions. Humanoids with wild black hair. Gargoyles that looked as if they'd been carved from stone. A troll of some sort, with warts and a tusk. A whole battalion of fire demons. Robin even saw a man and a woman who looked like Topaz, tall and fair and fearsome.

Trigon said, "I've waited a long time for this, mortal. If not for you, my daughter would have never dared defy me, I would have conquered galaxies! Now, you will watch your beloved city fall."

A fire demon appeared on either side of Robin.

"Lock him in the dungeon until the portal is ready," ordered Trigon.

Robin tensed, remembering what Raven had said earlier about Trigon's powers being weakened. Perhaps there was a chance of defeating him in hand-to-hand combat - but not with his entire army watching. Grudgingly, Robin handed his staff over to a waiting gargoyle and allowed the fire demons to escort him to the castle gates.

He would just have to bide his time.

* * *

The fire demons prodded Robin down a spiral staircase lit by torches. The stone steps were slick, like the floor of a cave, and icy water dribbled down from the ceiling. The torches hissed; the fire demons sizzled. Robin's shadow was spread huge against the wall.

At the bottom of the staircase was a long, dark corridor. A burly guard sat on a stool with his spear on his knees, dozing. He came awake with a snuffling grunt as the fire demons nudged Robin past a row of cells, each of which contained a prisoner. The prisoners were as different from one another as the soldiers in Trigon's army. Peering through the bars Robin saw purple-skinned aliens, a monster with tentacles and a beak, a glowering hunchback. Like him, they were all far from home. He would find a way to free them, somehow.

The fire demons stopped at the end of the corridor, unlocked a cell, and thrust Robin inside. Their orders fulfilled, they then turned and headed back toward the staircase, the glow from their bodies fading behind them.

Robin gripped the bars to his cell, his jaw clenched in anger. Suddenly he became aware of another person's presence. He spun around as a dark shape stirred in the shadows behind him. Topaz came forward, looking somewhat haggard. Her hair hung in her face and her mouth was twisted in an ugly grimace.

"You!" said Robin, sinking into a defensive crouch. Then a thought occurred to him: What was Trigon's henchman doing in the dungeon?

"Guess Trigon lost interest in you," he said with contempt. "Just like he did with Slade."

Topaz shot him a glare. "Trigon gave me powers I'd never even dreamed of. He said he'd give me even more, once I had successfully delivered the portal to your friend."

"But he didn't make good on his promise," Robin finished for her.

Topaz shrugged, as if it didn't really matter, but Robin noticed the way her eyebrows knotted together.

"No, he didn't. And when I objected, he stripped me of my powers and had me thrown in here."

"Where is the portal?" asked Robin.

"The ring?" said Topaz carelessly. "I don't know. But you'd better find it. It's the only way out of Trigon's prison dimension. That is, unless you plan on letting him use your friend as a portal, one big enough for his army. But I warn you, she may not like it."

"I won't let that happen," said Robin.

"Oh, really? And how do you plan to stop it? By waving your little cape?" Topaz made a scornful sound in the back of her throat, part laugh, part snarl. "You don't stand a chance."

"Doesn't mean I won't try," said Robin. "Tell me what Trigon did with the ring."

"Maybe he swallowed it," simpered Topaz. "Maybe he tossed it out the window. Maybe he melted it into ooze - "

Robin refused to listen to another word. He flew at Topaz, grabbing her by the shoulders and slamming her into the wall.

"I'm not here to play games with you! Tell me what you know!"

Topaz gave him an icy smile, and suddenly Robin knew what he had to do. He wasn't happy about it.

He released her shoulders and said reluctantly, "If you tell me where it is, I'll get you out of this dimension."

"Is that a promise?" asked Topaz slyly.

"Yes."

"You'll help me escape? A two-bit villain like me?"

"I promise," said Robin, turning away from her with a look of disgust. "And I'm nothing like Trigon. When I make a promise, I keep it."

"That, and you're a puny human," said Topaz, brushing past him the way a queen would a peasant. She placed her hands on her hips and inspected the bars on their cell. "If we're going to get that ring, we need to find a way out of this cell."

Robin glanced down at his waist and smiled. They had taken his staff but not his utility belt.

"Get behind me," he ordered Topaz, pulling out a grenade.

Using his cape to shield them, he hurled it at the bars. It exploded with a _boom_ that shook the castle from top to bottom. The other prisoners squawked and stamped and howled in alarm as Robin and Topaz stumbled into the corridor, smoke billowing behind them. The dungeon guard leaped off his stool and charged towards them. Topaz sidestepped a thrust from his spear and drove her knee into the soft overhang of his belly. He let out a little "oof!" and fell back a step. Topaz lashed out again, this time with her foot. The guard smacked against the wall and then slumped to the floor, unconscious. The prisoners' howls turned triumphant, and Robin had a sudden idea.

"Now everyone in the castle will be looking for us," Topaz hissed at him as he bent over the guard.

"Then I guess we'll need a diversion," said Robin with a smile, holding up a ring of heavy black keys.

* * *

Up in the tower Raven was standing at the window, watching Trigon's army assemble. She had never seen so many soldiers. A group of patrolling fire demons swooped down from the ramparts to join the left flank. Raven imagined them flying over Jump City, burning everything in their path, and her heart sank. Robin had been taken prisoner and her chains remained unbroken - what hope did they have against an army of hundreds? Then she remembered Robin's fierce expression, the harsh quality of his voice - _Raven, you have to fight!_ - and she lifted her chin. There was still hope. She just had to keep fighting.

Once more, she turned her attention to her chains. As long as she was wearing them, she couldn't access her powers, and she wasn't strong enough to break them on her own. She took a length of chain between her hands and pulled as hard as she could. The chain remained stubbornly in one piece.

"Okay, maybe it wouldn't hurt me to bulk up a little," she said, dropping it with a sigh.

Behind her, the door ground open and two trolls lumbered into the chamber, dressed in loincloths and ill-fitting armor. One was holding a double-headed axe, the other a club the size of a small tree.

"Never mind," said Raven, eyeing the trolls' bulging muscles with distaste.

The troll with the axe reached down and unhooked her chains from the wall. Wrapping the ends around his fist, he beckoned Raven forward with a grunt and a jerk of his head. She didn't move. Glowering, the troll yanked hard on her chains and she stumbled forward, nearly bumping into him. It seemed she had no choice but to obey.

They headed down the staircase in single file, first Raven and then the trolls. Her chains clattered and clinked behind her, making her feel like a dog on a lead. Eventually they came to a corridor lined with torches. It was much wider than the staircase. The trolls walked shoulder to shoulder, silent except for the occasional low grumble or rattle of armor. The one with the axe was still holding Raven's chains. She glanced over her shoulder at him and her eyes were drawn to his axe, to the thread of firelight dancing along its sharp edge.

Suddenly she had a plan.

* * *

There was no time to think it through, no time for anything but action. Raven wouldn't submit to her father's will a second time - she just hoped the trolls were as dumb as they looked. Without warning, she lunged to the side, her chains scraping and rattling. The trolls grunted in surprise; their eyeballs bulged. Raven smirked - their reflexes were slow. She dodged a huge, groping hand and the slow swing of a club, and ran around them in a circle, her chains wrapping around their ankles. They thudded to the ground with a clamor of armor and the axe went spinning across the floor. Raven chased after it, grabbing it by the handle. She tried to lift it and her arms trembled.

"Where's Starfire when you need her?" she said through clenched teeth.

Summoning her strength, she raised the heavy axe over her head and brought it skirling down on top of the chains.

There was a loud, ringing sound, followed by a burst of pure-white energy. Raven was knocked backwards off her feet. She sat up, blinking away white spots, and glanced down at her wrists. The black manacles and chains vanished into nothingness. She was free.

Better yet, she was powerful.

She stood over the trolls with a kind of dark satisfaction. Their mouths fell open, their slimy yellow tusks jutting this way and that.

"My powers are fueled by my emotions," said Raven, smiling grimly. "The more I feel, the stronger I get. And right now, I'm feeling a lot of rage."

Black energy boiled from her fingertips.

The trolls exchanged quick, nervous glances.

"Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!"

* * *

Raven flew fast down the corridor. It turned left and then right and then left again. She felt like she was navigating a maze. Once or twice she passed a heavy wooden door, but the rooms behind them were always empty. She flew onward, from corridor to corridor, until she came to a vast, echoing hall with a high, vaulted ceiling like a cathedral. It was not empty like the other rooms: Statues carved in Trigon's likeness reclined in shadowy niches along the walls, their glittering ruby eyes leering out at her. At the far end of the room there sat a mighty throne.

She was in Trigon's throne room.

As she looked around her, wondering what to do next, she heard some faint scuffling noises. They were coming from the other two entrances. Suddenly a hodgepodge of creatures burst into the room. Raven grimaced, expecting a fight, but the creatures weren't interested in her - they were too busy fighting each other. One looked like a kraken out of water, a writhing mass of tentacles. It was clutching a pair of wild-looking humanoids and waving them about as it rippled over the floor, oblivious to their shrieks. Purple aliens zipped back and forth through the air, shooting pink laser beams from their eyes to hold back the tide of fire demons, and a hunchback rode on the shoulders of a troll, boxing its ears with what appeared to be a small footstool. Raven had never seen anything like it. She felt a hand touch her shoulder and turned to find Robin standing there, a determined smile on his face.

"You made it," he said. He didn't sound the least bit surprised.

"I don't know how you do it," Raven admitted.

"Do what?" asked Robin.

"Believe in me. Even knowing what I am. What I came from."

"It doesn't matter where you came from," said Robin, placing his hands on her shoulders and looking her full in the face. "You're Raven. A good teammate and a good friend." His smile twitched wider. "I believe in you. We all do. Now it's time you started believing in yourself."

Raven offered him a small smile of her own.

"I hate to interrupt the touching reunion," said a queenly voice, "but we haven't got all day."

It was Topaz. Her black cloak was gone, replaced by a high-collared white cape and matching catsuit, and she was carrying a spear.

"What's she doing here?" asked Raven darkly as Robin let go of her shoulders.

"Helping you escape," said Topaz, with cutting civility. She pointed towards the throne.

There was a small stone pedestal standing next to it, with a sparkle of red on top.

The ring.

"There's the portal," said Topaz. "All we have to do is slip it on one of our fingers and link hands. It will take us to your city."

"We can't trust her," said Raven.

"We don't have a choice," said Robin, starting briskly forward.

Raven pressed her lips together and glided after him.

Hearing a flapping sound, she shot a look over her shoulder, half-expecting to see Topaz dissolve into a fury of black wings. Topaz stared back at her sarcastically.

"Looks like we have company," she said, pointing up at a circling formation of gargoyles.

"There's more," said Robin, as a hulking red shape emerged from one of the entrances.

"Trigon," said Raven.

* * *

A purple alien streaked toward Trigon. He smacked it out of the air with one sweep of his clawed hand and then charged forward on all fours like an ape, roaring loudly, his double set of eyes locked on Raven and Robin. To make matters worse, the gargoyles flapping overhead suddenly began dive-bombing them. Their nattering cries bounced off the vaulted ceiling, ringing through the throne room like some kind of unholy choir. Robin, Raven, and Topaz made for the stone pedestal, fighting as they ran, Robin with a fistful of boomerangs, Topaz with her spear, and Raven with spurts of black energy. Meanwhile, Trigon drew closer and closer with every toe-to-knuckle bound.

"There's too many of them," said Topaz, grappling with a gargoyle. She swept its legs out from under it and it fell backwards onto its wings, scuttling like an overturned beetle a moment before pouncing back into the air.

Raven looked at the gargoyles. Then she looked at Trigon. Barreling through a clump of creatures, he reared up and roared, a roar so loud it momentarily eclipsed the nattering of the gargoyles: "YOU CANNOT ESCAPE ME!"

The past is inescapable, thought Raven. She was demon spawn, born of fire and hate. She'd been sired to topple worlds and usher in an era of nightmares. But even so, she wanted to be good.

Trigon was roaring again. "DAUGHTER!"

"You - are - not - my - FATHER," growled Raven. There was white fire in her eyes. She wanted to be good - she was determined she would be - and no one, not even Trigon, was going to stop her.

She raised her arms and a huge black raven formed around her, one with jagged feathers and a sharp, gaping beak.

"AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!"

* * *

A wave of blackness rolled off Raven in the shape of outspread wings. It stretched up toward the ceiling, pushing the gargoyles back. It spread in every direction, the edges sliding down to the floor to form a dome of smooth black energy. Trigon disappeared, along with the battling creatures. Inside the dome, Robin and Topaz lowered their weapons and looked up wonderingly at the sweep of black above them. All was perfectly still. Then there was a chiming sound, like crystal being struck, and two clawed hands pushed their way through the side of the dome, followed by a muscled chest and a large, triumphant head. Fangs gleamed white. The head laughed, a low, rumbling rockslide of a laugh.

"Miserable, weak," said Trigon gloatingly as the dome filled in behind him.

"What now?" said Raven to Robin.

"This!" said Robin, snapping two boomerangs together to form a sword and hurling himself at Trigon.

Raven was about to do the same when she noticed a darting movement out of the corner of her eye. Topaz was running toward the throne, her cape fanning behind her. She snatched the ring off its pedestal and made to shove it on her finger. She was going to leave them behind! Raven rammed into her; Topaz cried out as the ring clinked to the floor. Raven's momentum carried them over to the throne, where they crashlanded and fought, blue and white jumbling together

"I knew we couldn't trust you," growled Raven out of one side of her mouth. Topaz's hand was pushing at her face.

"What did you expect?" spat Topaz. "I'm no hero. I'm just trying to stay alive."

She wedged her legs between them and flipped Raven over her head.

Then she stood and, scraping her hair back impatiently, said, "Is that really the best you can do?"

Raven, who was lying flat on her back making little wheezing noises, said nothing.

Topaz sounded a little wheezy herself. She raised her spear and huffed, "Say goodbye - "

Raven's eyes flashed white and black energy slithered up the spear, cracking it in two.

"Daddy's little demon," sneered Topaz, tossing the useless halves aside.

She made a scrambling dive for the ring, but Raven grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her to the floor. Her cape flopped over her head. She scrabbled out from under it, looking furious, and scuttled forward on her hands and knees.

She came up against a pair of blue boots and pale gray legs.

"You know, you're not exactly sweet yourself," said Raven, sliding the ring onto her finger.

The ruby sparkled. Red light burst forth. The portal appeared, this time hanging in the air like a mirror.

"Robin, let's go!" she shouted.

Robin slashed at Trigon with his sword. Trigon roared and stepped back, shielding himself with his arms. Shadowy tentacles wrapped themselves around Raven and she felt herself being dragged backward into the portal, into the terrible shrieking darkness. She cried out, and the dome collapsed. The gargoyles came rushing in.

Robin spun around. Behind him, Trigon's four eyes narrowed with cunning and blazed red. The Mark of Scath appeared beneath Robin's feet, bloody, twisting, a branch of thorns. Red crackles shot up his legs, lifting him off his feet, and danced in his hair. He dropped his sword as his whole body juddered with pain. Out of his back emerged a copy of himself, one with ash-gray skin and a glowing red mask, one with a smile of nails. It peeled itself away from Robin and he was blasted backward onto the floor. Ignoring his pain and confusion, he sprang to his feet -

And found himself face to face with his copy.

"Look at you, playing the hero," said the copy, in a mocking voice identical to his own. "Who do you think you're fooling? You lie to your friends. You hurt people. You're just like Slade. You can't help Raven. You can't even help yourself."

"That's not true!" said Robin. His hand slashed at the air. "I'm nothing like Slade!"

His copy snickered. "Then why did he single you out? Why did he choose you for his apprentice? He saw something inside you, something that reminded him of himself."

"We're nothing alike!" snarled Robin.

His muscles coiled; he was ready to spring. He didn't notice Raven disappearing into the black maw of the portal. He didn't notice her kick away Topaz's scrabbling hands. He didn't notice her eyes blaze white.

A bolt of black energy shattered against Trigon's chest. He staggered; Robin's copy disappeared. A dazzle of white light plunged into Robin's chest and he shook his head, as though to clear it, and looked over at Raven, who was by now almost completely engulfed in black. Anger followed frustration followed shame. Trigon had used the copy to distract him - Robin would be left behind if he didn't hurry.

He sprinted toward the now shrinking portal, leaping over Topaz's kneeling form, and grabbed onto Raven's hands. As they were wrenched forward into the cold black void, he reached back, seized Topaz by the collar, and whisked her into the portal behind them.

Trigon lunged at the portal, his hand outstretched. "Your city will fall! Your friends will be enslaved! All will kneel before Trigon the Terrible!"

He shrank to a tiny red dot.

The portal blurped shut.

* * *

Robin, Raven, and Topaz plummeted through darkness and cold blasting winds, their hair and hemlines streaming behind them. Robin gripped Raven's hand with bruising strength, refusing to be separated from her a second time. They fell for what seemed like hours, and then the portal blinked open like an enormous eye and Raven found herself staring down at a scallop of blue ocean surrounded by gray city blocks. There was a slender suspension bridge, so tiny it might have been spun by a spider, and a green dot of an island with a rectangular structure on top. It took Raven a moment to realize she was looking at Titans Tower. They were somewhere above the Jump City bay.

They dropped out of the portal and blue sky opened around them, its horizons humped with clouds. The wind shunted upward, making Raven's eyes water. Topaz was screaming, her hair standing straight up, like a bundle of straw. Raven didn't understand why she no longer seemed able to fly, but now wasn't the time for questions. The bay loomed closer and closer. Raven could make out little whitecaps sparkling on the water.

With effort, she reached through the solid wall of wind and wrapped her fingers around Robin's wrist, just above their interlocked hands. She pulled up. Gravity pulled down.

"Why do you have to be so heavy?" she said, clenching her teeth, pulling harder.

Robin snapped to a stop, swinging like a yo-yo on a string, and Topaz hurtled past, still screaming. Her scream fell with her. Raven made a platform out of black energy and lowered Robin onto it. The platform teetered. Robin windmilled his arms and dropped forward onto his hands and knees. Raven landed beside him.

He peered over the edge of the platform at Topaz, who had shrunk to the size of a doll, and then, looking back at Raven, said, "We have to - "

"I know," said Raven. She added, with just a touch of exasperation, "I just don't know WHY," and steered the platform beneath Topaz, breaking her fall.

The three of them rode down towards the navy bay, Topaz clinging to the platform for dear life, her teeth locked together like piano keys. The clear afternoon sunlight shone on Raven's head.

She said to Robin, "Remind me again why we're helping Trigon's henchman?"

* * *

"No hard feelings, right?" said Topaz with a strained smile.

They were standing on an empty city street. Robin had his arms folded across his chest and was wearing a stern frown. The silver ring sat in the palm of Raven's hand. Raven was glaring at Topaz. Her eyes flared white and, levitating the ring into the air, she used her powers to crumble it into dust.

"Don't ever let me see your face again," she told Topaz.

Topaz's lip curled as several police cars squealed up behind her, sirens bawling. She glanced around wildly. She was outnumbered, with nowhere to run. The fight went out of her and her cape sagged over her shoulders. An officer with a bushy black ponytail handcuffed her and led her over to one of the cars.

"So, I guess that's it," said Raven as the car door clapped shut.

Robin didn't answer. He was looking at the sky above the bay - even though the portal was long gone and the ring was nothing more than a pile of silver dust

"Robin?" Raven reached out, as if to touch him.

He didn't notice. He turned and walked away, his cape draped around him. Raven's hand faltered and returned to her side.

"Let's go home," said Robin.

* * *

None of the other Titans had known what to make of Robin and Raven's strange and sudden disappearance, and Starfire especially was delighted to have them back safe and sound. She was also the first to notice that something was wrong with Robin.

"You are certain you are unharmed?" she asked him, over and over.

"I'm fine, Star, give it a rest already," Robin snapped.

He never snapped at Starfire.

After that, he went straight to the gym and began pummeling a punching bag. He pummeled it until he was sweaty and out of breath, and then he stood there, panting. The Mark of Scath blazed in his memory. He remembered his copy's mocking voice, HIS voice, telling him he hurt people, that he was just like Slade -

"You don't want any dinner?"

Robin turned and saw Raven standing in the doorway. Her hood was down and her pale face looked solemn.

He wiped the sweat from his brow. "Not hungry."

Raven leaned her shoulder against the doorjamb. "How about a story, then? To pass the time. This is the story of Robin."

Robin smiled. "I think I've heard this one before."

"He made mistakes," said Raven. "He didn't always trust his friends. But whenever there was trouble and things got bad, somehow, he found a way to save them. He never gave up."

"How does the story end?" asked Robin.

Raven smiled sadly. "It doesn't."


End file.
